---
title: "Chad — capital, area, population and currency"
description: "Chad: capital N'Djamena, area 1,284,000 km², population 21,003,705 (2025), currency Central African CFA franc. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/chad/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Chad

**Chad: Capital N'Djamena**

1,284,000 km² · 21,003,705 people (2025) · Central African CFA franc

Lake Chad, which gives the country its name, has lost roughly ninety percent of its surface area since the 1960s. Emi Koussi in the Tibesti range is 3,415 m, the highest point in the Sahara. The Bodélé Depression in the north is the single largest source of atmospheric dust on Earth, and some of it reaches the Amazon.

## The facts

- **Capital:** N'Djamena
- **Area:** 1,284,000 km² — 495,755 sq mi
- **Population:** 21,003,705 (2025)
- **Density:** 16.4 people per km²
- **Currency:** Central African CFA franc (XAF, Fr)
- **Official languages:** Arabic, French
- **Time zone:** UTC+01:00
- **Calling code:** +235
- **Drives on the:** right
- **ISO codes:** TD · TCD
- **Continent:** Africa

## How it compares

- **By area:** 21 of 200
- **By population:** 64 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mongolia | 1,564,116 | 3,568,978 |
| Peru | 1,285,216 | 34,576,665 |
| Chad ← | 1,284,000 | 21,003,705 |
| Niger | 1,267,000 | 27,917,831 |
| Angola | 1,246,700 | 39,040,039 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Chad?

N'Djamena

### What currency does Chad use?

The Central African CFA franc (XAF).

### How big is Chad?

1,284,000 km², or 495,755 square miles — 21 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Chad drive on?

The right.

## Related pages

- [Mongolia](https://atoneplace.net/country/mongolia/)
- [Peru](https://atoneplace.net/country/peru/)
- [Niger](https://atoneplace.net/country/niger/)
- [Angola](https://atoneplace.net/country/angola/)
- [Nigeria](https://atoneplace.net/country/nigeria/)
- [Ethiopia](https://atoneplace.net/country/ethiopia/)
- [Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/country/egypt/)
- [Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/)
- [Tanzania](https://atoneplace.net/country/tanzania/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Kenya](https://atoneplace.net/country/kenya/)
- [Sudan](https://atoneplace.net/country/sudan/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]